Dec 17, 2012—The recent spate of acquisitions, including last week's announcement that Honeywell will purchase Intermec for $600 million (see Honeywell to Buy Intermec), is a sign that the radio frequency identification market is gaining traction.

Honeywell's purchase of Intermec wasn't all (or even primarily) about RFID. Intermec is a well-known manufacturer of bar-code technology, and it fits nicely with Honeywell's Scanning & Mobility unit, which was created by Honeywell's acquisition of Hand Held Products (in 2007), Metrologic Instruments (in 2008) and LXE (in 2011). But RFID is clearly part of the deal, and it provides a pathway for Honeywell to be a major player in that industry.

Indeed, when Honeywell launched its Optimus 5900 handheld reader in June, Taylor Smith, the director of product marketing at Honeywell Scanning & Mobility (HSM), told RFID Journal that Honeywell has been watching the development of the RFID market and was introducing its first product into the market due to the growth in item-level tracking among major retailers (see Honeywell Sees Its Optimus 5900 Reader as the First in a Series of RFID Products).